The undisputed triumpher of this year’s Divine Comedy was The Weavers (Tkocze) directed by Maja Kleczewska. The production from the Silesian Theatre received the Grand Prix and as many as three acting awards. However, this was not the only offering where we could hear the Silesian language (godka) on Kraków’s stages.

If you missed the winning production, or simply wish to check what is happening on the stages of the Upper Silesian conurbation, there is no shortage of direct connections to Katowice—and there is certainly good reason to make the trip, as the audience of this year’s Divine Comedy knows perfectly well. The Inferno competition featured two productions created in Upper Silesia, with another presented in the Purgatorio section.

A perfect complement to these theatrical experiences was the debate “The Camouflaged Silesian Option: On Difference, Pride, and the Strength of Community,” featuring Beata Guczalska (theatre researcher, professor at the Academy of Theatre Arts, and author of award-winning books on Jarocki, Trela, and Konrad Swinarski), Wojciech Śmieja (literary scholar, professor at the University of Silesia, and researcher of masculinity, gender, and queer studies), Karolina Pospiszil (literary scholar at the University of Silesia, researcher of contemporary Upper Silesian literature, and translator), Robert Talarczyk (director, dramaturg, Director of the Silesian Theatre, and creator of productions that define the contemporary Silesian stage), and moderator Aleksandra Klich (journalist, writer, creator of the podcast The Fifth Side of the World, and director of the library in Rybnik).

In Maja Kleczewska’s victorious The Weavers, the titular characters speak Silesian, while the factory owners speak Polish. In doing so, the director and dramaturg Grzegorz Niziołek sought to reference the literary original by Nobel laureate Gerhart Hauptmann. The creators modernized the 19th-century story, transplanting it to a contemporary workplace to emphasize how little exploitation and injustice differ from those of centuries past. Yet, the answer to oppression remains rebellion and solidarity. This sense of community is also evident in the superbly ensemble cast, a fact noted and appreciated during the festival gala, where awards were presented to Aleksandra Bernatek, Marcin Gaweł, and Grażyna Bułka.

If the talent of the latter caught your particular attention, a visit to the Korez Theatre in Katowice is a must. It is there, in the repertoire, that one can find the actress’s monodrama My Name Is Hanka (Mianujom mie Hanka), directed by Mirosław Neinert. In this production, Bułka has created an unforgettable role of a woman severely tested by fate and history. Speaking in fluent dialect, the actress shares with the audience that which is painful, beautiful, unique, and universal—all seasoned with a generous pinch of humor and a large dose of distance. Viewers of the Television Theatre (Teatr Telewizji) also had the opportunity to witness the power of this monodrama, as it was featured on this iconic program a few months ago.

Finally, the second of the competition entries, which delighted with its intimacy and original staging: Robert Talarczyk’s Speak to Me (Godej do mie) could be seen during the Divine Comedy at the… Stradom House AUTOGRAPH COLLECTION hotel. The location was no accident; this is a performance addressed to a small audience, incredibly intimate, performed by the married couple Agnieszka Radzikowska and Dariusz Chojnacki, and treating of relationship struggles. In such artistic relationships, it is not only feelings that bring things to a boiling point, but also personal ambitions and artistic plans that are difficult to reconcile with private life. The Katowice production is a vivisection of a relationship seething with emotion, which the audience can observe from a truly close distance.

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